MIAMI | Development Thread [Archive] - Page 2

dave8721

May 24, 2006, 6:12 PM

does anybody know when carribean in south beach will commence construction?
thanks in advance

-hi123

According to this article from April 21st, it should be soon if it hasn't started already:

http://www.multi-housingnews.com/multihousing/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002384064

Construction Begins on South Tower Foundation of Oceanfront Condo in Florida

APRIL 21, 2006 -- Miami Beach, Fla. -- A foundation permit has been secured for the construction of the new south tower, one of two that makes up Caribbean, a high-end oceanfront condo here, that will have 103 luxurious units.

General contractor GT McDonald is building the 19-story structure. Christa Construction and Development LLC is renovating the north tower, a landmark 1941 building whose facade will be restored to its original grandeur. The two buildings will be linked by a lavish outdoor recreation and pool deck.

“We have a foundation pouring date penciled in for 60 days out, however work on the site will begin almost immediately,” said John Casey, president of Christa Construction & Development LLC.

When complete, the six-story north tower will house 35 ultra luxurious residences. The new south tower will house 68 equally well-appointed homes. Both will front the ocean and will share direct boardwalk access, a new-age fitness center, billiard lounge, wine vault and cigar humidor. Five-star services include beach and pool towel service, valet, concierge and 24-hour security.

Units will feature top-of-the-line designer kitchens and baths, “smart” technology and breathtaking ocean and Intracoastal views. Residences in the north tower will range in size from 704 to 1,748 square feet with units in the south tower spanning 1,434 to 3,910 square feet. Direct oceanfront two- and three-bedroom units are available from $2 million. Penthouse pricing is available upon request. Eighty percent of the units have been sold to date.

Christa/Bluerock, a partnership between New York-based Christa Development Corp. (CDC) and Bluerock Real Estate, is developing Caribbean. Kobi Karp is the architect for the project, and the internationally renowned Christopher Ciccone is the interior designer and creative consultant. Majestic Properties is the exclusive sales agent.

streetscaper

May 24, 2006, 6:44 PM

Check out this cool interactive map created by the Miami Herald showing all the new planned towers around the new PAC:

Click on the graphic entitled PACked Map for the full graphic:
http://www.miami.com/multimedia/miami/entertainment/archive/pac/

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/4719/miauc4td.png

and to think, this is just a section of booming city of Miami

hi123

May 26, 2006, 4:26 PM

you guys ...gess what??? i saw on skyscrapercity.com that fortune international has been driving piles for JADE OCEAN:tup: in Sunny isles beach! IS thiss true????if it is then:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

kazpmk

May 26, 2006, 9:14 PM

Is Jade Ocean the same thing as Jade Beach II?

brickell

May 26, 2006, 9:40 PM

Yes

hi123

May 27, 2006, 1:38 AM

hum.. i was expecting a little more enthusiasticness ...so does anyone no if it is true?...

kazpmk

May 27, 2006, 10:00 PM

I hope it's true. It's a great design.
http://www.sunnyislesrealestate.com/images/jade%20ocean/bldg2.jpg

Dale

May 27, 2006, 10:19 PM

Chuck on SSC says it's true.

brickell

May 30, 2006, 2:05 PM

Forgive me, but I have a hard time getting excited about Sunny Isles Beach. I heard it's true, but I never make it up that far, so I couldn't say for sure. Sunny Isles is like a giant skyscraper themepark. Pretty to look at it, but that's pretty much it.

dave8721

May 31, 2006, 6:23 PM

The 400-foot Hotel De l'Opera was approved by the commission:

http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/060601/story1.shtml

Downtown luxury hotel gets OK

By Deserae del Campo
Miami commissioners granted a permit last week to veteran developer Tibor Hollo to build a 34-story, 350-room luxury hotel in the Omni area.
"It will be 25 years since this area of Miami has had a hotel built," said his attorney, Vicky Garcia-Toledo.
Mr. Hollo, president of Florida East Coast Realty who developed the Omni complex and nearby Grand and Marriott hotels, says the Hotel De L'Opera will be rated four stars.
"I approve of this project for this site because it is relative to Miami 21," the city's land use initiative, said Commissioner Johnny Winton. "It will bring a perfect fit to the area."
"As a hotel project it will provide jobs at an entry level," agreed Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones.
The 400-foot, 34-story hotel at 1771 NE Fourth Ave. is to offer 350 rooms and 44,606 square feet of offices between Bay Parc Plaza rental apartments and the Opera Tower, projects permitted to Mr. Hollo in 2001.
"The original project started in the 1980s" as Miramar Center, said Philip Dahan, Florida East Coast senior vice president. It included Bay Parc Plaza, Opera Tower luxury condos and a site zoned institutional. "The institutional building could have included office space or an education facility," he said.
Mr. Hollo said he was going to build the institutional building because the Miami-Dade School Board approached him in 2004 about the site.
"I don't know what they had in mind," he said, "but it was going to be for school board use. But I haven't heard from them in about a year and a half, so I decided the next best thing would be a hotel on that land."
"This hotel will be the only new hotel in that whole area," Mr. Hollo said, "and I think it should be pretty good, with views of Biscayne Bay and dock space for people who want to bring in their boats."

dave8721

Jun 1, 2006, 2:17 PM

A rendering of the 903-foot tall 600 Brickell provided by rx727fl2002 at ssc:

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/5332/600brickell1kd.jpg

Toucano

Jun 2, 2006, 12:07 AM

Nice, I like, very different...

MiamiJR

Jun 2, 2006, 5:11 AM

Very nice...kinda New Yorkish (except for the palms)

dave8721

Jun 2, 2006, 12:54 PM

And most importantly its an office/hotel building. No residential for once.

NewAtlantisMiami

Jun 3, 2006, 3:05 PM

Hi, guys! Been listening in for quite some time now, but had trouble getting administrative approval to join the site! They must have been short-staffed, the way Emporis seems to be these days with not having updated the Miami page in weeks. Native Floridian here who has lived in the Miami area since 1984, but I moved to South Florida after living in California for 10 years where I became a skyscraper enthusiast/aficionado with the skylines of Los Angeles and San Francisco! When I used to watch the Miami sunsets from my high-rise, bay view, South Beach apartment, I would imagine what Miami would look like with a skyline like that of L.A. or San Francisco, and I thought it was something I could only dream about. Now, with what has already sold, in addition to what is already under construction, Miami will easily have the 3rd most dynamic skyline in the country within the next 5 years with 21st century skyscraper architecture spreading from the Rickenbacker Causeway to I-195!! I don't have the inside scoop on a lot of these projects the way of some of you do, but living right in the city now (upper east side), I occasionally take weekend drives just to monitor the progress of some projects. I do hope Empire World gets built at 1000+ feet though. If we are going to have the 3rd most dynamic skyline in the country, it is only appropriate that we have at least 2 supertalls (I don't particularly care for the skybridges either, but they add stability and speak to the area in which we live the way our architecture should). About height restrictions, I've been watching planes fly into Miami International for over 20 years now, and I think the FAA and MIA are too stringent with their height restrictions! Instances in which they would need as much clearance as they are asking seem almost negligible to me! I tire of hearing about our towers being chopped down. The designs of Capital I & II, for instance, almost beg to be taller and should have stayed at 805 feet. Either way, I anxiously await 2011 and the new skyline like a gentile kid waiting for Christmas! It is something I quite literally used to dream about! There is no place in the world I would rather be right now than Miami! Steve:cheers:

hi123

Jun 3, 2006, 5:21 PM

could somebody go please check out the site for carribean in south beach to see if there is any construction activity ....if somebody could i would GREATLY appreciate it.

-hi123

NewAtlantisMiami

Jun 3, 2006, 5:54 PM

I will go by later today or this evening! Paying bills right now, then the gym later!

hi123

Jun 3, 2006, 6:52 PM

really?! wow! thanks so much newatlantismiami!:cheers::notacrook:

NewAtlantisMiami

Jun 4, 2006, 2:56 AM

Okay! Went by the Caribbean tonight! Looks like the old hotel is being renovated, if you don't already know that! The space just next to it on the south side on Collins Avenue has been cleared! I drove to the back of the old hotel to see what was there! CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY!!!!! BIG TIME!!! BIG SQUARE WALLED HOLE IN THE GROUND!!! BIG DRILLING CRANE TO PLANT THE PILINGS TO ANCHOR THE BUILDING THAT'S COMING!!!! Anybody know what's happening with Onyx2 and Element, let alone Soleil? They've all been on the radar for quite some time now! Onyx2 said they were starting in December when I asked them last year! Element was still alive when I spoke to them earlier this year, but as you can see in the upper left of Dave8721's photo on page 2 of this thread, it's still a big yellow rectangle that you could probably fit all of Brickell Citicenter on if it weren't for the height restrictions in that part of town! Steve

archifreese

Jun 4, 2006, 3:47 AM

Delete

NewAtlantisMiami

Jun 4, 2006, 4:13 AM

That is not good news for 500+ feet tall buildings extending north of Quantum! At 1900 N. Bayshore Drive, Quantum is, so far, the farthest north of the CBD where we actually have a 500+ feet tall building under construction. Element and/or Soleil being under construction would have brought the skyline as far north as 31st Street with buildings in the 500+ feet tall range. That's quite an impressive spread! Onyx2 would have helped bridge the gap between those buildings and Quantum. By my estimation, the sites are in a prime location, off the beaten path, but still close to the center of things, in an area not as over done as Brickell, close to the new Performing Arts Center and in walking distance of the Design District! Do all you developers hear that? Come on! Start building!

hi123

Jun 4, 2006, 7:23 PM

anything new on 1080 brickell?

NewAtlantisMiami

Jun 4, 2006, 11:17 PM

I was down in the Brickell area last weekend and can't say I noticed anything at 1080 Brickell, but I must confess I don't have much interest in anything under 500 feet tall! My philosophy is if you plan a building for between 485 and 500 feet tall, you might as well go ahead and break 500 feet for a respectable height by New York standards! Add more ornamentation! Anything that would be considered an integral part of the building! And I want to ask you guys something who know the Miami skyline. Do you believe Three Tequesta Point is really only 480 feet tall if Miami Center is 484 feet tall?

vasklar

Jun 6, 2006, 3:23 AM

I am so glad the Soleil may not be built. I am a very big proponent of big buildings downtown. But, like all major cities that have an impressive and welcoming urban landscape, we also need a highly dense, low rise area. The area between NE 24 st and NE 26st along Biscayne (Edgewater) should maintain its low rise, old-florida feel. Then we can have one of the great urban neighborhoods as New York has the Village, San Francisco the Haight and the Castro and the Mission, and Paris... well, Paris is pretty much all low rise.

Go Miami and the market finally regulating these developers that have no sense of urban design!:haha:

NewAtlantisMiami

Jun 6, 2006, 4:03 AM

The FAA, MIA, and American Airlines would love that considering those streets and up to 36th Street are right in line with MIA runways! I think Coconut Grove is a great low-rise urban neighborhood, but it looks as though Blue on the Bay is going to be the north border of the new downtown expanding to encompass all of the Edgewater district! Miami will have a relatively large downtown, extending from almost the Rickenbacker Causeway to I-195, divided into three distinct districts: The Brickell Avenue area being the financial district, the old downtown from the Miami River to I-395 being the central business district, and the Edgewater district being the arts district with the Performing Arts Center bordering it on the south and the design district bordering it to the northwest.

dave8721

Jun 6, 2006, 1:50 PM

colemonkee

Jun 6, 2006, 6:35 PM

Are there any recent picture updates on Plaza on Brickell?

dave8721

Jun 7, 2006, 6:05 PM

New Miami building from the Kobi Karp website: 100 South Biscayne (the current location of the old 19-story building next to the Wachovia). It looks like the shorter one is 36 stories above the podium which would make me think the taller one is in the 80+ story range. Nice. Appears to be mixed use office/residential. Hopefully more info to come.

http://www.kobikarp.com/images/100biscayne01.jpg

http://www.kobikarp.com/images/100biscayne04.jpg

http://www.kobikarp.com/images/100biscayne03.jpg

http://www.kobikarp.com/images/100biscayne02.jpg

northface

Jun 7, 2006, 11:21 PM

sweet^

NewAtlantisMiami

Jun 8, 2006, 1:19 AM

Dave8721 "New Miami building from the Kobi Karp website: 100 South Biscayne (the current location of the old 19-story building next to the Wachovia). It looks like the shorter one is 36 stories above the podium which would make me think the taller one is in the 80+ story range. Nice. Appears to be mixed use office/residential. Hopefully more info to come."

WOW!!! Super cool-looking! Thanks, Dave! One of the coolest-looking buildings I've seen planned!! I hope it gets built! I feel like Christmas did when I was a kid! Can hardly wait for Christmas 2010 when much of the new skyline will be in place! TOYS!!! TOYS!!! BIG TOYS FOR BIG BOYS!!! :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:

Paul305

Jun 8, 2006, 3:02 PM

Great location. Great building. Let's just hope this one doesn't go the way of 1101 Brickell. The Great Wall of Miami will already be sick without this building but if it is built, we will have one of the most amazing waterfronts in the world. We now have 13 buildings proposed or under construction along 14 blocks of Biscayne Blvd, 15 if you include Loft II and Marquis West. If all of the buildings are built, the only holes left in the skyline will be 500 Biscayne, the gas station next to Ten Museum Park, and the MDC campus. Just imagine what Biscayne Blvd will look like with the streetcar, museums, I-395 lowered and a wall of skyscrapers as a backdrop and all of this without any of the trucks coming from the port. It will be amazing.

hi123

Jun 9, 2006, 2:34 AM

what is the status of Park Place at Brickell? ...do we know when infinity 2 will start construction?...also it was reported on skyscrapercity that asphalt was broken on the site of Met2!!!!!!yay!

dave8721

Jun 9, 2006, 6:40 PM

what is the status of Park Place at Brickell? ...do we know when infinity 2 will start construction?...also it was reported on skyscrapercity that asphalt was broken on the site of Met2!!!!!!yay!

Don't know about Park Place but Infinity 2 just started advertising (I don't think has actually started sales yet) and there are still a couple of building standing on the site that would need to be demolished first. Infinity1 is (finally) starting to come up out of the ground at least.

hi123

Jun 9, 2006, 6:49 PM

cool! thanks dave ..how about 600 biscayne and paramount park?

MiamiSpartan

Jun 9, 2006, 8:12 PM

Capital on Brickell has started advertising again. I would really like to see this developement happen. I love the tops of those buildings. Miami has nothing like it, and it would really add to the look of the skyline...

NewAtlantisMiami

Jun 10, 2006, 5:40 AM

Yes! Capital I and II have a stunning design that I wish could have stayed at the original specs of 805 feet each! They would have really soared! Having them chopped down was a crime against architecture! Paramount Park has a website whereby you can pre-register and get information as it becomes available, but so far that's all the information I can find. Paramount on the Bay I know is under construction from direct observation. Have heard nothing on 600 Biscayne. I can confirm from direct observation, though, that construction has begun on the first tower of ICON Brickell. Aside from that, Dave8721 has everything covered placing the most recent updates on anything on the website as they happen. I'm trying not to get too excited about what's coming because we can't be certain what will be built and at what height, but I'll say one thing for sure: There has never been anything like this in this country with this much on the drawing board at one time! It looks as though Emporis has given up on updating their Miami page. I don't think we will beat Hong Kong though for what was planned and built there for the first half of this decade, but I think it's a great time to be alive and in Miami if you are into this type of thing. Steve

bobdreamz

Jun 15, 2006, 3:35 PM

dave8721 is 100 S Biscayne a serious proposal?.....also the first pic says it's a view from the southwest which would put the smaller building facing Biscayne Boulevard?

dave8721

Jun 15, 2006, 8:55 PM

cool! thanks dave ..how about 600 biscayne and paramount park?

About Paramount Park here is a quote from Dale over at SSC:

In the latest Ocean Drive there's an interview with the CEO of Prodigy which I found very encouraging. He said that while doubtless most current propsals will never get out of the ground, stronger developers will continue to churn out their projects as the Miami's 'fundamentals are there', basically that Miami can't be stopped.

Oh yeah, he said Solis is launched, Paramount Beach is soon to get underway and Paramount Park will be launced later this year. Also, Beach House is moving ahead.

BTinSF

Jun 15, 2006, 10:25 PM

From today's Wall Street Journal:

Street Sleuth
New York Developer, Backer
Scale Back Projects in Miami
By CHRISTINE HAUGHNEY and MICHAEL CORKERY
June 15, 2006; Page C3
In a sign some global investors may be souring on the U.S. housing market, a New York-based luxury condominium developer and his Israeli financial backer are trimming back in Miami. The U.S. partner plans to expand in India and elsewhere overseas.

In recent weeks, Shaya Boymelgreen, who got his start building Brooklyn apartments and has designed some of the flashiest condo projects in New York City, and financial backer Lev Leviev have entered into contracts to sell three parcels in downtown Miami for $89 million.

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/MI-AH955_NUMBER_20060614194244.jpg
Lavish: Rendering of Mr. Boymelgreen's Soleil project in Miami, planned to have 244 condominium units and open in 2009.

Mr. Boymelgreen, who hasn't bought properties for condo development in 18 months, says he is refocusing his efforts in Israel, India and Europe. He recently put down a $54 million deposit to buy a 64% stake in Israeli publicly traded company Azorim Investments. He says he plans to get into residential and commercial real-estate development in India.

In an interview yesterday, Mr. Boymelgreen said he is seeing "more demand in India than in Miami by people that can afford to buy houses. The Miami market is not going as fast it used to go. So we're going global."

Mr. Boymelgreen's cutback in Florida -- a market he entered during the recent real-estate boom with ambitions of catering to some of the wealthiest buyers -- comes as financial backers are curbing their enthusiastic investing in U.S. real estate, particularly as once-hot markets cool.

"There is a distinct caution in the marketplace with foreign investors," says Brian Street, president and chief executive of Boca Developers of Deerfield Beach, Fla. He adds that foreign investors are more likely to be skittish than a local investor who has a better first-hand knowledge of the market.

To be sure, lots of foreign money continues to pour into U.S. residential real estate, especially from cash-flush long-term investors like Dubai companies that have purchased several Manhattan office buildings and a California-based homebuilder. But for developers building projects using borrowed money and looking for quick returns on their investments, the atmosphere in the U.S. has become more challenging.

"The general feeling among the Israelis and especially ones that had a phenomenal run mainly in U.S. residential real estate was that they reached the peak and they've squeezed the juice out of the New York market specifically and the entire U.S. market in general," says Yoav Oelsner, a senior director with real-estate brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield Inc. who has worked with many global investors on ventures.

Messrs. Boymelgreen and Leviev say they will complete three luxury apartment buildings with 616 units and build on three more sites in Miami with an estimated 600 units.

A spokesman for Mr. Leviev, who runs publicly traded firm Africa Israel Investments Ltd., says the pair will continue to do deals together on a case-by-case basis and that Mr. Leviev will continue to invest in the U.S. real-estate market. "He will deal with Shaya and more partners," says spokesman Shlomo Peles.

Before the latest real-estate boom, Mr. Boymelgreen was a relatively unknown Brooklyn developer who worked on small projects in neighborhoods such as Park Slope and Dumbo, for "down under the Manhattan Bridge overpass." After meeting Mr. Leviev on a cruise to Puerto Rico, the two developers hit it off and decided to form a partnership. In January 2002, they entered into a five-year development agreement. Since then, Mr. Boymelgreen says they have worked on more than 30 luxury condominium projects in Miami, Toronto, Las Vegas and New York City, valued at $8 billion.

In New York City, Mr. Boymelgreen's projects continue to sell well, and Mr. Boymelgreen has been willing to drop the prices when it has been necessary, says Pam Liebman, chief executive of real-estate brokerage firm the Corcoran Group in New York. Corcoran represents the developer on seven projects in New York City.

Since he entered the Miami market, Mr. Boymelgreen has attracted attention for lavish parties and marketing of his projects. But he also experienced turnover in marketing firms and has been criticized by some contractors about late payments. Michael Cannon, managing director of Integra Realty Resources in South Florida, says Mr. Boymelgreen's troubles could stem from high development costs and some potentially overbuilt locations, such as one in downtown Miami.

In March, Mr. Boymelgreen tapped his attorney, Andrew Hellinger, who has extensive experience in bankruptcy, to oversee his Miami operations, sparking rumors in the market that he was experiencing problems with his condo projects.

Mr. Hellinger has said he was hired for his knowledge of the Miami market and not because of his bankruptcy experience. He said the firm's projects are moving forward. "Right now we're in the development of three projects with a total sellout price of about $600 million, and we have three more projects that are planned that are close to $1.5 billion," says Mr. Hellinger.

hi123

Jun 16, 2006, 1:33 AM

what is "beach house"?

archifreese

Jun 16, 2006, 4:41 PM

Delete

dave8721

Jun 16, 2006, 6:01 PM

NewAtlantisMiami

Jun 18, 2006, 3:01 AM

600 Brickell and the new Flatiron design go before the Miami city commission for approval on June 22nd.

http://egov.ci.miami.fl.us/meetings/2006/6/1305_A_City_Commission_06-06-22_Meeting_Agenda_(Long).pdf

Dave, is there a way we can get Emporis to update the Miami page after that? It would certainly be more accurate if they used your updated list and even more impressive than it is now after adding 100 South Biscayne, the Omni Development, and Biscayne Plaza project, but their Miami page hasn't been updated in months now. Steve:cool: :cool:

bobdreamz

Jun 18, 2006, 9:40 PM

^ Emporis is redesigning their website and I seriously doubt we will see any updates soon.

bobdreamz

Jun 21, 2006, 2:04 AM

came across this great shot of all the towers risiing on Biscayne Boulevard

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c90/900Biscayneguy/IMG_0188.jpg

L to R: 50 Biscayne, Everglades on the Bay, Marina Blue, 900 Biscayne, Ten Museum Park

brickell

Jun 21, 2006, 1:37 PM

Nice shot bob.

colemonkee

Jun 21, 2006, 4:57 PM

Great shot! Should make a nice backdrop for the Heat victory parade...

dave8721

Jun 21, 2006, 6:11 PM

On 600 Brickell:

http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/060622/story4.shtml

Brickell mixed-use project goes to city this week

By Deserae del Campo
A Brickell mixed-use project of nearly 1 million square feet of office space and hundreds of hotel rooms and residential units is to go before the Miami City Commission this week for building permit approval.
The two-tower 600 Brickell and its approximately 952,000 square feet of office space can't come soon enough to the area's space-strapped leasing market, said Bert Checa, a Holly Real Estate broker. "The vacancy rate would go from 8% to 17% if the building was going up now.
"The project would bring a very healthy amount to the market, which is starving right but it's not coming soon enough," Mr. Checa said. "This is a project that the market desperately needs."
600 Brickell is among several projects in the works that could ease pressure on the leasing market. City records show downtown Miami is expected to see more than 5 million square feet of office space from projects in the pipeline.
The shorter tower of 600 Brickell, standing 485 feet, is to be completed ahead of the taller one, by the end of 2010. It's to include 490,126 square feet of office space and 14,030 square feet of retail space.
Work on the second tower is to begin in 2011. The 903-foot structure is to include 134 residential units, 360 hotel rooms, 463,483 square feet of office space and 3,917 square feet of retail space.
Developer 600 Brickell LLC is to go before the commission today (6/22) for a major use special permit. The city's zoning board approved the project in March.
"We received approval from the Urban Development Review Board and the zoning board," said attorney for the developers Gil Pastoriza of Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza Cole & Boniske during a planning and zoning meeting this month. "They were all ecstatic about the project.
"We have a truly unique building here, the first of its kind on Brickell Avenue that has a significant amount of public space with three quarters of an acre of public plaza."
Ron Henderer, architect with RTKL Architecture, said "600 Brickell draws a parallel with Rockefeller Center. This project will bring significant value to the city of Miami with a vital urban space that will be a magnet for people."
The project has also received city commission approval for the land and zoning use changes. The final reading for the land-use change is also scheduled today. A six-story building at the site is to be razed to make way for the project.

mercator

Jun 21, 2006, 9:22 PM

Why such a small amount of retail?

HigherinCarolina

Jun 22, 2006, 8:55 PM

W:worship: ow! I hope it's not too much of a good thing.

hi123

Jun 25, 2006, 3:42 AM

beach house is moving ahead

does that mean that it has already begun construction?
also does anybody have a pic of apogee or carribean progress?

thanks in advance

-hi123 :)

NewAtlantisMiami

Jul 2, 2006, 5:18 AM

Guys, let's all thank Dave8721 for all the great renderings on page 1 that he regularly updates. They are truly awe-inspiring and quite inspirational. I especially like the most recent rendering of Empire World. It looks as though it's already there on Biscayne Blvd. Let's all at least hope it will be. Steve

dave8721

Jul 13, 2006, 1:07 PM

dave8721

Jul 14, 2006, 3:34 PM

A new bayfront tower called "On the Bay" which will be located on Pace Park between the 1800 Club and the Bay Parc Plaza apartment building goes before the planning board on July 19th. Its to be 47 stories and 499 feet tall (why not just add 1 foot and make it an even 500??). Its a pretty dense building considering it will have 648 condos (and 859 parking spaces) in just 47 stories.

Here is a pdf of the building:
http://egov.ci.miami.fl.us/Legistarweb/Attachments/26622.pdf

An image of the pdf:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/dave8721/onthebay.jpg

hi123

Jul 14, 2006, 5:56 PM

does anyone know when paramount beach in sunny isles will start construction?

NewAtlantisMiami

Jul 15, 2006, 12:13 AM

A new bayfront tower called "On the Bay" which will be located on Pace Park between the 1800 Club and the Bay Parc Plaza apartment building goes before the planning board on July 19th. Its to be 47 stories and 499 feet tall (why not just add 1 foot and make it an even 500??). Its a pretty dense building considering it will have 648 condos (and 859 parking spaces) in just 47 stories.

Here is a pdf of the building:
http://egov.ci.miami.fl.us/Legistarweb/Attachments/26622.pdf

I didn't think anything that big could even fit there! Just went by there again tonight. What's the point in building condos in that kind of density when your only view is going to be inside somebody else's 40th-floor condominium? Steve

kardon

Jul 15, 2006, 1:53 AM

All those photos of Miami look great, but their market doesn't look good.

From the Miami Herald:

The area most in danger of falling prices: condos, which now make up more than half of housing sales in South Florida.

Experts predict condo prices will slow, flatten or even fall this year, especially at the high end, because the boom churned out too many units too fast.

There are, for instance, 15,080 units under construction in the city of Miami alone, compared with 11,241 built in the entire past 10 years. And that doesn't even count the more than 28,000 units approved to go up in Miami.

Condo fever already has cooled from the time when buyers camped out all night at sales centers. In 2004, it took developer Jorge Perez of the Related Group of Florida about a week to sell out The Plaza, a 1,000-unit Brickell Avenue project.

Perez's more recent project, the 1,750-unit ICON Brickell, just a few blocks away, went on the market in April. But after more than eight months, it's still not sold out.

To summarize the market, developer Henry Harper scooped up the milky froth on his cappuccino at a Miami restaurant with his spoon. ''This is now gone,'' he said.

While rising construction costs may buffer the market by choking off proposed projects, some market watchers say so many buyers are speculators that prices will drop.

''There is severe overbuilding of condos,'' economist Hank Fishkind said in January at an Urban Land Institute conference in Hollywood. He gloomily predicted, ``People will get hurt, banks will go bankrupt.''

Deerfield Beach investor Jack McCabe is betting on it. He has started several so-called vulture funds to swoop in on distressed properties at bargain prices after a market fall. He says he has more than $10 million in pledges already.

''I think it will happen in 2006,'' he said. ``The writing is on the wall.''

DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE?

dave8721

Jul 15, 2006, 3:12 AM

kardon

Jul 15, 2006, 1:24 PM

why do you keep posting that same article (from over a year ago no less) in every Miami thread there is?

I posted it for the same reason you look at every Miami Thread. DUH. There's a lot more activity in this one, and I want to know. Im looking to purchase..and I wanna get more opinions than the 2 i got in the other thread. I didnt know it was a year old. Does that answer your question? And from speaking with others, Miami announce a lot...but investors have bought a lot of properties..and not actually buyers. That scares me.

bobdreamz

Jul 15, 2006, 1:59 PM

kardon well then wait if you want to buy....prices will eventually stabilize but it all depends where you want to buy.

brickell

Jul 16, 2006, 10:29 AM

buy a good apartment in a good building built by a good developer in a good part of town and you can't go wrong.

NewAtlantisMiami

Jul 18, 2006, 4:49 PM

I believe that regardless of what the market is doing, Miami has established itself as the new up-and-coming American city. As the market waxes and wanes, I believe that overall interest will remain in the area for some time, and I think this is what developers with projects entering the market as it starts to stabilize are banking on.

MiamiJR

Jul 20, 2006, 2:41 AM

Gift renames Miami Performing Arts Center
South Florida Business Journal - 11:36 AM EDT Wednesday
The Miami Performing Arts Center Foundation has said $30 million in gifts from Carnival Corp. and PLC and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation have led it to rename the Miami Performing Arts Center the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts. The Miami-based organizations have been involved with the yet-to-open center since planning began. The late Ted Arison, Carnival's founder and chairman emeritus, made what the center said was a substantial personal financial gift in the early 1990s to help fund development. Also, since 1995, the Knight Foundation has made numerous grants in support of the center's artistic initiatives and its capital campaign. Both the company and the foundation have also provided ongoing support for Carnival Center's resident companies - Concert Association of Florida, Florida Grand Opera, Miami City Ballet, New World Symphony and America's Orchestral Academy. The newest gifts include $20 million from Carnival, the largest gift to the center to date. Concurrently, the center's concert hall, previously known as the Carnival Concert Hall, is renamed the Knight Concert Hall in appreciation of $10 million in grants from Knight Foundation. These two gifts bring the total raised through the center's capital campaign to $80 million. The goal is $85 million. Once the capital campaign for construction is complete, the center said it will continue to raise funds to expand its endowment fund and support programming and operations. Naming rights are still available for the center's studio theater, the stage of the concert hall, dedication of six public art installations, as well as other public and private spaces. The center is slated to open in downtown Miami in October.

MiamiJR

Jul 21, 2006, 6:15 AM

Developer plans office building in Biscayne Corridor
South Florida Business Journal - 11:11 AM EDT Thursday

Grouper Financial said it will build a 29-story, Class A office building in Miami's Biscayne corridor, midway between the new performing arts center and the Design District. The Miami-based developer said 2222 Biscayne will be between 22nd Street and 23rd Street. The two-acre, 432,477-square-foot project is to include office and retail condominiums, a health club, restaurants, windows with impact-resistant glass, rooftop terraces, office balconies, executive suites and a parking garage. Grouper said it also plans to maintain space for lease for large tenants. "We are building 2222 Biscayne to meet the growth needs of this emerging neighborhood," said Scott Silver, president of Grouper Financial. "This project will not only provide an alternative to the crowded office environment downtown and on Brickell Avenue, but will also match the striking new residential architecture in the Biscayne Corridor." The building, designed by architect Gail B. Baldwin, is to offer floor plates of more than 25,000 square feet and four parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of leased or purchased office space. Construction is scheduled to begin fall 2007, with delivery of the building in fall 2009. The developer put the starting base rental price at $38 a square foot, with ownership starting at $350 a square foot. The land is part of a four-acre parcel Grouper bought earlier this year for $22.75 million.

NewAtlantisMiami

Jul 25, 2006, 5:34 PM

Is Mint the one that's just started construction directly on the corner of SW 3rd and S. Miami Avenue next to Wind and is Cima planned for the other side of Wind directly on the Miami River?

dave8721

Jul 25, 2006, 5:46 PM

A new 32-story tower for Sunny Isles. Here's the "Ocean Beach Resort" which I found on the Kobi Karp webpage.

http://www.kobikarp.com/images/oceanbr001.jpg

http://www.kobikarp.com/images/oceanbr004.jpg

dave8721

Jul 25, 2006, 5:48 PM

Also from the same website, here are some new renderings of Tiziano II:

http://www.kobikarp.com/images/tizianotwo001.jpg

http://www.kobikarp.com/images/tizianotwo002.jpg

NewAtlantisMiami

Jul 25, 2006, 8:03 PM

Thanks, Dave! It's amazing how you're able to find stuff and put it on. Steve

MiamiJR

Jul 26, 2006, 6:56 PM

Miami commissioners to consider mall next to arts center

By Deserae del Campo
Miami city commissioners are to vote today (7/27) whether to approve a major use special permit for the City Square retail project, a five-story retail structure with 641,000 square feet of space and 4,052 parking spaces.
City Square is planned for 1431-1451 N. Bayshore Drive and 425 NE 13th St., behind the east hall of the newly named Carnival Center for the Performing Arts.
Its location behind the center's concert hall led Miami historian and Miami Planning Advisory Board member Arva Moore Parks to vote against the big-box retail project during a July 5 board meeting.
"The location is inappropriate," Ms. Parks said. "It is also out of context with the neighborhood."
During the advisory board meeting, Ms. Parks said, developers compared the retail center to New York City's Times Square with its illuminating lights. "It is going to be a very distracting building that just won't look good next to the arts center," Ms. Parks said.
Renderings of the retail center show a three-story multi-colored, electronic billboard on the building's outer walls.
The planning advisory board approved the project 7-1.
According to city documents, the retail center would cost about $334 million to build and create 2,400 construction jobs and 1,725 permanent jobs. It would also bring the city $3.1 million in annual tax revenue.
A second resolution is also to go before the City Commission today for a major use special permit to build the companion City Square residential project at 1401 Biscayne Blvd., 360 NE 14th Terrace and 1410-1420 N. Bayshore Drive.
The project includes a 623-foot-tall, 60-story mixed-used building with 942 residential units, 13,566 square feet of retail space and 1,684 parking spaces.
A spokesperson for developer Maefield Development declined to comment on the project. City records list former property owner Knight-Ridder Inc. as requesting the special use permit from the City Commission on behalf of the developer. Knight-Ridder, which had been the publisher of the Miami Herald, sold its assets last month to California-based McClatchy Corp.

MiamiJR

Jul 27, 2006, 12:46 AM

NOT IN MIAMI...BUT FT LAUDERDALE
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/media/photo/2006-07/24557821.jpg
FORT LAUDERDALE -- Some buildings last centuries; the Las Olas Riverfront complex might not last a decade. After months of speculation, Riverfront's proposed replacement has been put on paper and officially submitted to the city for approval.

The small booklet of drawings recently given to City Hall brings to life what previously was relegated to rumor: a gigantic eating-drinking-living destination with 750 condos in three towers rising 34, 39 and 41 stories tall, plus 100,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor for stores, restaurant-bars, a small theater and an independent film cinema.

Where the complex fronts the New River, Boca Developers Inc. proposes a dancing fountain. On Brickell Avenue, the street that runs into the complex running north-south, fiber optic lights would project a "virtual river" onto the asphalt, for the illusion of one river running into another.

"Downtown began there. Brickell is where it began. And this is the 21st century center of the emerging Fort Lauderdale," said attorney Don Hall, representing the developers. Hall said Fort Lauderdale has "matured" and the thousands of residents filling up the new condos downtown will want a more sophisticated, urban destination than what's there now.

Approval of the site plan would spell the end to the 8-year-old Las Olas Riverfront, a two-story, $55 million entertainment zone with movie theaters, stores, restaurants and bars that takes up much of the block at Las Olas Boulevard, Andrews Avenue and the New River. The project was built on former public land in deals that cost taxpayers more than $3 million.

Riverfront was never as successful as planned, and former owner Michael Swerdlow sold it a year ago to Boca Developers for $31.9 million, according to county records. He is no longer involved, Hall said.

In recent months, major restaurants there have closed, leaving vacancies, and the remaining small-business owners say they're having tough times making money as Riverfront declines.

Hall said there's more value in its destruction and the building of "New River at Las Olas."

"The fact of the matter is there is no there there," said Hall. "... This is a significant piece of property. It requires significant public amenities and significant buildings."

Vice Mayor Cindi Hutchinson, who represents downtown's business district, said she hasn't seen the plan and can't comment on it, but she isn't opposed to demolition.

"What's there doesn't work. That sums it up. It doesn't work," Hutchinson said.

The project could face a struggle getting approvals.

A lack of parking on the property was always an issue at Riverfront, and the new proposal still relies in part on off-site, nearby parking, though it includes 1,058 spots on New River property.

Another issue: Only 253 residential units can be built there now. The remainder couldn't be built unless city commissioners amend land-use rules to allow more residences to be built downtown. That debate for another 3,000 residences is expected to renew in the fall, as well as possible new affordable housing requirements.

Height could also be an issue. The 39-story tower would rise 426 feet, said attorney Heidi Davis Knapik, also representing Boca Developers.

That rivals the city's tallest building, River House condo, which is 452 feet. Icon, to be built next to the Stranahan House on Las Olas Boulevard, is to be 455 feet.

"How are they going to get a height that big next to a historic district?" asked Mayor Jim Naugle, who has previously said he thought Riverfront could be fixed without demolition.

Directly west of Riverfront, across the FEC railroad tracks, is a historic village, home of the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society. A proposal to tear down Riverfront's movie theaters and build two condos -- one 36 stories, the other 25 -- died last year in the face of opposition.

Hall said the flattening of the real estate market is not a deterrent. "Markets change," said Hall. "No matter what the market is at this moment, Fort Lauderdale is an exciting city where people want to live.

"That isn't going to change."

Dale

Jul 27, 2006, 2:12 AM

^ Build it.

bobdreamz

Jul 27, 2006, 5:18 PM

Construction Gets Under Way on 54-Story Project
By Natalie Keith

MIAMI-Locally based developers CMC Group, Lionstone Development and Ponte Gadea Group have begun construction on the Epic Residences & Hotel. The 54-story property is rising at 300 Biscayne Blvd. Way.

The architect on the project is Luis Revuelta, of Revuelta Vega Leon. The project will contain both condominiums and hotel rooms. The hotel will occupy 15 of the floors and contain 400 rooms. It will be managed by San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. Project costs were not released but the value of similar projects ranges from $160 to $200 million.

There will also be 340 one-, two- and three-bedroom condominiums ranging in size from 1,040 sf to 7,840 sf. The units are priced from the $500,000s. The project will contain a rooftop upper penthouse with entertainment rooms and a private terrace atop the tower.

Among building amenities are a 12,000-sf spa and fitness center, restaurants and lounges overlooking the Miami River and Biscayne Bay, a private boat dock, business center and two pools. Residents of the condominiums will be able to purchase amenities on an a la carte basis, Veronica Cervera, president of Cervera Real Estate, the project’s exclusive sales agent, tells GlobeSt.com.

“We’re finding that the building is attracting people who want to live in the city and walk to places,” Cervera says. “The performing arts center will be completed by the end of the year and it’s bringing a lot of energy to that area.”

........................................................................................................
isn't this the Dupont site?.....anybody have pics of EPIC?

brickell

Jul 27, 2006, 5:28 PM

yes it's the dupont site. Here's a shot of the one under construction. There's two planned, you can see them on the first page.

http://www.epicmiami.com/html/images/home/intro.jpg

bobdreamz

Jul 27, 2006, 5:45 PM

thanks Brickell I thought it was the old Dupont hotel site...that's a great shot too.

DGM

Jul 27, 2006, 5:50 PM

They should rename it Crane River. That whole area is going to be one big construction site over the next few years. I'd hate to have to take anything but the metrorail or metromover over the river. Correct me if Im wrong, but don't the west 2nd ave and miami ave bridges both have expansion plans in the works?

NewAtlantisMiami

Aug 13, 2006, 12:37 AM

Okay, guys! I did one of my weekend construction site tours. Met3 is still a big cleared lot. Is there any word on when some real construction might begin? Infinity I & II look as though they might be going up at the same time i.e. the Plaza on Brickell I & II, Everglades on the Bay North & South Tower, and Quantum on the Bay North & South Tower, so it could be that they are both under construction. Even though they were marketed as separate projects, they could even end up looking something like Quantum. At least that's what the model in the sales office looks like to me. Now, please, help me make sense out of the River Front site. Wind and Ivy I've seen clearly marked, but what is going up south of Ivy next to the Metrorail on the Miami River? The holes are being drilled for the anchor columns. Is that Mint? Emporis also calls it River Front West, so from its location on the River Front site, it must be. And what else is going up on that site in relation to the Ivy and Wind, north or south of each, either on the river or on SW 3rd Street and S. Miami Avenue? I mean it's a pretty big site since this will be the gated River Front community! I actually got out of my car and walked halfway up the S. Miami Avenue bridge to try to make sense out of it all. From the renderings I've seen of Liz Calderon's Cima, it looks as though it will go up on the Miami River just south of Wind and will be one of the River Front East towers. And will we ever see construction on Onyx2 and Element (formerly Ice2), which is the most not-under-construction under-construction project you'll find anywhere? Premier Towers is another project that's been on the radar for a long time without starting construction! Steve

bobdreamz

Aug 13, 2006, 4:39 PM

umiami305's Construction Update
These are a few weeks old nevertheless some updates regarding projects downtown:

Foreground: Wind (153m, 501ft), Ivy (156m, 526ft). Background: Neovertika (112m, 369ft), Latitude (145m, 476ft).

http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/3776/dsc037761lr.png

MarinaBlue (187m, 615ft), Ten Museum Park (178m, 585ft).

http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/9348/dsc037979cv.png

Met I (134m, 440ft)
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/4760/dsc037896yg.png

Marquis (207m, 679ft)
http://img419.imageshack.us/img419/3226/dsc038059lx.png

Plaza on Brickell (two towers, 186m, 610ft)
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/3667/dsc037845lr.png

500 Brickell (two towers, 130m, 426ft)
http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/2798/dsc037879uy.png

Brickell on the River II (147m, 482ft)
http://img336.imageshack.us/img336/848/dsc037858fk.png

Everglades on the Bay (164m, 538ft)
http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/307/dsc038010zd.png

Loft II (132m, 433ft) with the Metro mover tracks underneath!
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/38/dsc038003uh.png

50 Biscayne (169m, 554ft)
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/715/dsc037954cs.png

Opera Tower (166m, 543 ft)
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/7494/dsc038104ou.png

NewAtlantisMiami

Aug 13, 2006, 5:28 PM

Thanks, Bobdreamz! Some pretty impressive photography there! So much construction in what is only the first or second wave of what is to come!Steve

dave8721

Aug 16, 2006, 5:58 PM

Work begins on 617-foot tall Met 2 office tower:

http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/060817/story1.shtml

Work begins on Met 2 offices

By Marilyn Bowden
Groundwork is under way at Met 2, the office component of the Metropolitan Miami project downtown, with the start of vertical construction probable in six months.
"We have the site permit, which allows us to do foundation work up to the level of the top of the piles," said leasing representative Jack Lowell, vice chairman of Flagler Development Corp., formerly Codina Realty Group.
Site and foundation work, which requires another permit and would cover development of the ground floor, will be finished in about six months, he said, when developer MDM Group USA expects to have the full building permit in place.
"We are building regardless of whether we have a tenant signed or not," Mr. Lowell said. He said he expects the Met to field one of several large financial tenants looking for space.
The 47-story tower at 200 SE Third St. will house about 750,000 rentable square feet of office space, Mr. Lowell said, as well as a garage and a 376-room Marriott Marquis Hotel.
Completion is expected in early 2009.
The Met's major competitors are proposed office buildings at 1450 and 600 Brickell Ave., just across the Brickell Bridge. The 35-story, 585,055-square-foot 1450 Brickell, a project of Rilea Group, could make it to the market first, said leasing representative John Marshall, because it is a smaller building. Construction is expected to start there when a major tenant is signed.
A major use special permit has been granted to the Foram Group for a mixed-use project at 600 Brickell Ave., the first phase of which would be a 36-story tower containing 490,126 square feet of office space. The permit requires a construction start within two years. The second phase, slated for a 2011 start, would add another 463,483 square feet of offices.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/dave8721/met23.jpg

bobdreamz

Aug 16, 2006, 7:05 PM

dave this is incredible news!!....the first significant office building in the heart of the CBD since the 80s finally gets underway!! I'm also glad that Flagler/Codina are involved as they surely get this built.

MiamiSpartan

Aug 25, 2006, 1:46 AM

Latest news has MLB looking at a downtown Miami site for a new ballpark for the Marlins. The site is just south of the "old" Miami Arena, which means it would be located just off of I 95, and right next to a Metrorail Station. How great would it be to have the new Met 3 building peering into the stadium over the right field wall when the roof was open?
Still gotta find funding, tho...

Dale

Aug 25, 2006, 2:47 AM

At this point it may be a toss-up between which is less likely to be built between the stadium and Met 3.

dave8721

Aug 25, 2006, 7:04 PM

This project being dead isn't news but burried in the article was the fact that Platinum on the Bay was originally to be a new tallest before the FAA chopped it down:

http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2006/08/21/daily42.html?surround=lfn

Platinum on the Bay for sale

South Florida Business Journal - 3:03 PM EDT Thursday
by Susan Stabley
Print this Article Email this Article Reprints RSS Feeds Most Viewed Most Emailed

The asking price for Miami's Platinum on the Bay: $44 million.

The Redondo development family has put its second residential condominium tower project on the market. The 320-unit luxury Platinum on the Bay is to rise 56 stories from the edge of Biscayne Bay at Northeast 29th Street.

"Since the market has changed, we're selling the site now," said Carmen Redondo, who doubles as family broker for Kamany Realty.

Platinum on the Bay is listed with LoopNet.

The project ran into trouble more than a year ago due to Federal Aviation Administration height restrictions.

The family, which does business as Maysville Inc., had originally hoped to build up to 825 feet.

But in May 2005, the FAA said the building would need to conform with two other nearby structures, both of which topped out at 544 feet.

The family's first project, Platinum, is expected to be completed in October. Redondo said they have sold more than 80 percent of that project.

MAH4546

Aug 26, 2006, 4:28 AM

At this point it may be a toss-up between which is less likely to be built between the stadium and Met 3.

Met3 has been delayed ridden, but it is happening, no doubt. We are going to see a lot of projects never happen. Met3 is not one of them.

Dale

Aug 26, 2006, 3:12 PM

Met3 has been delayed ridden, but it is happening, no doubt. We are going to see a lot of projects never happen. Met3 is not one of them.

This is comforting, MAH. I trust you have a bit of inside info ?

Dale

Aug 26, 2006, 6:25 PM

BornInTheGrove

Aug 27, 2006, 10:56 PM

anybody know what's up with SSC?

knas167

Aug 28, 2006, 1:40 AM

anybody know what's up with SSC?

no clue, but glad to see it's not just my computer/internet.

Scruffy

Aug 28, 2006, 2:30 AM

^ they are changing over servers or something. supposed to take a few days.

Scruffy

Aug 28, 2006, 2:31 AM

yes it's the dupont site. Here's a shot of the one under construction. There's two planned, you can see them on the first page.

http://www.epicmiami.com/html/images/home/intro.jpg

This is such a cool pic. but I dont know that much about miami. Are all of these built or are many of these renders of what will be there?

Dale

Aug 28, 2006, 3:11 AM

All are built.

brickell

Aug 28, 2006, 3:24 AM

^ except the lit up one in the middle which is a rendering and is currently u/c

vasklar

Aug 28, 2006, 3:52 PM

I really hope the stadium doesn't get built. Not that many people care about baseball down here, and it would be a waste od CBD land to build yet another stadium/arena. The park west/ east overtown area would be an sports complex wasteland, effectively inhibiting the earea from developing any real street life. Stadiums and arenas are drains on economies and on neighborhoods and on tax bases. This is the latest understanidng of sports economics in opposoition to the previously held wisdom about such complexes. I hope our tax dollars are spent on much more worthwhile ventures (although with the corruption in Miami.. ie public health trust, affrodable housing scam, fire fee scandal, Jackson Hospital no bid contracts, etc.... I doubt anything good will happen).

BornInTheGrove

Aug 30, 2006, 8:30 PM

I''d rather have my money go to building a stadium for a team that brought us not one, but two World Series championships in a matter of 13 years than going into the pockets of corrupt politicians.

vasklar

Sep 2, 2006, 10:43 PM

Corrupt politicians make money through wasteful projects like the stadium. The money taxpayers give for a staudium would flow directly to the contractors and developers who build the stadium and sell the land, as well as the corporate heads of MLB and the Marlins. Politicians make money by being in power and being able to support projects that they in turn stand to gain from. They do not care if a huge chunk of concrete will forever ruin the prospects of a developing area of downtown. The will always frame their private ventures as "serving the public good." Read this next story i will post from the MiamiTodayNews to see the process at work.

vasklar

Sep 2, 2006, 10:45 PM

v=City shouldn't give a $200 million gift for an urban eyesore
By Michael Lewis
Such temerity: The developer of City Square at the Miami Herald site is asking Miami's government to fund the full $200 million cost of the retail mall's parking garage - nearly $50,000 per parking space.
Last year, the entire project of 641,104 square feet of retail, the parking and two 62-story residential towers was reported to cost $370 million. So the city is being asked to contribute more than half of everything, just to build parking for the developer.
What's wrong with this picture? Everything.
Of course, construction costs have risen. Yet a May report the developer commissioned said the cost of constructing the retail plus parking is $277.3 million, of which government is being asked to pay $200 million for the privilege of - what?
Well, if the city's Omni Community Redevelopment Agency were to put up $200 million, Maefield Development of Indiana would put up a 130-foot-tall mall plastered with 90-foot-tall electronic billboards next to the county's new performing-arts center. Just think, a taxpayer-supported eyesore rising where government took pains to keep out high-rise condos that could mar arts center patrons' view and where it sought to sink an expressway below grade to keep the vista clear.
But we'd be getting more. There'd be 1,528 parking spaces that would meet more than half the arts center's needs - presumably at high cost to patrons and great profits to developers. There'd be 1,780 spaces for shoppers. And there'd be 744 spaces for the Miami Herald, whose parking lots developers would buy for $190 million as the project's site.
Why, now that I think of it, a $200 million city subsidy would cover all the land cost and then some. And the Herald's owners would be able to unload the site, which has languished under a sell agreement since March 2005 as the condo boom evaporated. The city's $200 million would funnel cash to the McClatchy Co. to trim debt it just incurred in buying the Herald.
See how well all of this can work out? The developer gets the city to pay for the land, the Herald's parent gets the money, the Herald gets its parking spaces and the property on which the Herald building sits - which is being rezoned for massive residential towers - would become saleable, too.
It's a win-win for everybody - unless you consider the public. But, hey, you can't please everyone.
Project plans long had been announced when Maefield wrote to the city this month asking for $200 million. Until a few weeks ago, not a penny of government money had been under consideration.
Why should government fund an eyesore?
Well, the developer wrote, "Maefield Holdings, LLC, is interested in your participation with a direct financial contribution to offset the high costs associated with delivering a world-class development for the benefit of the City of Miami. As such, the Omni CRA financial commitment will maximize the benefit delivered to the residents in the current environment of increasing construction costs and high land prices."
I didn't know the project was to benefit the City of Miami at all. I had imagined it was an investment from which developers expected to profit, not a public service. Silly me.
And how much exactly have the land prices risen since the contract to buy was cut 18 months ago? Seems like $190 million then is the same as $190 million now - far too much. But why should the city bail someone out of a bad deal or rescue McClatchy?
In fact, government has no business paying anyone to build on a $190 million site, some of the community's most expensive land. Though it's in a redevelopment zone, the area has been booming with buildings that were paid for by developers, not the city. This is not urban renewal.
In fact, it may not even be good for Miami. Looking at a mall the equivalent of 13 stories covered with nine-story electronic billboards, the city's planning report says, "the quality and location of signage in the project is excessive and does not meet Zoning Code." It calls the billboards "large-scale advertisement panels."
Two issues intersect here: Should the city allow the project at all, and should the public finance it?
The Omni Community Redevelopment Agency is to address city funding Sept. 5, though commissioners would have final say as to whether the city would enrich developers to gain nothing more than they were promised at no public cost six weeks ago.
Then Sept. 7, a special commission meeting will consider zoning approval that McClatchy, the Herald's owner, requires for the mall's building permit.
We're no fans of massive billboards, now barred here for good reason. Making them electronic is worse. Sticking them outside the performing-arts center is doubly offensive.
But that's aesthetics. Presumably, some people like highways with billboards every 20 feet. Somebody somewhere must like 90-foot electronic signs. There's no accounting for taste.
But there should be accounting for public money. This community has a history of cutting atrocious deals with developers of public projects, but a big-box mall is no more a public project than is an office building or a condo tower. There is no reason to consider a subsidy of any amount.
Then again, considering those who would benefit from the deal, you never know, do you?